Botswana miners renew contract

The minister of mineral resources, green technology and energy security, Sadique Kebonang said this in response to a question from MP for Jwaneng/Mabutsane, Shawn Ntlhaile in parliament last week.

He said the first Debswana Diamond Company and Majwe Mining Joint Venture contract started in 2011 and was initially scheduled to be completed at the end of this year.

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"So far, approximately P7bn has been spent on this contract," he said.

Kebonang explained that the project was initially planned for completion by end of 2016, however the rate of mining had to be slowed down to align it to the slowdown in the diamond market.

"As such, the completion date for the project has been extended to the end of 2018. First ore from cut 8 is scheduled to be delivered to the plant on time, starting in early 2017," he said.

The minister further noted that the extension was not expected to negatively affect any sub-contractors already involved in the project.

According to Kebonang, the total number of jobs lost at Majwe Mining Joint Venture since January 2015 stands at 246, mainly due to reduced mining rates which necessitated a reduction of employees.

Parliament was also informed that the number of employees still awaiting terminal benefits at Majwe Mining Joint Venture stands at 14, most of whom are still finalising employment clearance process.